Comes Back Around
by Calico45
Summary: A familiar yet distinct story is about to take place on a stage created from the ashes of Sotoba and just as the setting is both new and the same so are the people. Many of the inhabitants bear the names of former villagers, but some may even be more closely related than that. Who is to say how it will turn out this time.


Comes Back Around

Prologue

A long, long time ago there was a village that went by the name Sotoba. It was given this name because of the wooden grave markers the village was known for producing. It was quiet and small, surrounded by the trees that would one day reinforce the village's namesake. In this village there were two families that were especially well known: that of the Muroi and the Ozaki. The Muroi were the priests of the village and they protected the sacred land of Sotoba, as well as its myths. The Ozaki were doctors that ran the only clinic in the village and they were entrusted with the health of every inhabitant. One might think that these families were stark contrasts, but that was not the case at all. They were both strict throughout the family and had high expectations of one another. They even got along quiet well despite how their philosophies might conflict. One thing that could be said to be common of all the inhabitants of Sotoba, Muroi and Ozaki alike, is that the tales of creatures from beyond the grave were never taken very seriously.

That was until a great calamity destroyed the village. First it was an epidemic of disease in the summer followed by fire that engulfed everything. It was the head of the Ozaki family, a young doctor, that lead the surviving villagers from Sotoba to set up a new life after failing to save the village from the fire. Although the epidemic claimed many lives it had mostly been over by the time of the fire, which was the disaster that took most of the lives in Sotoba. It even took from it the Muroi family and most of the Ozaki. Be it the disasters that brought the villagers face to face with mortality or a regular resurgence of superstition, the survivors of Sotoba told tales of monsters they referred to as _shiki_ to their children and grandchildren. According to their stories it was not sickness nor fire that destroyed Sotoba but shiki. These stories go as far as to say that after the survivors set up a new village that their leader, Toshio Ozaki, continued to hunt shiki throughout his life. However, like with all stories they lost their relevance through the years.

Because the new village the survivors created never truly felt like home to them it was never properly named. It was only once generations had gone by and the stories of shiki became merely cautionary tales for children that a name was decided, but not for this settlement. As the stories weakened a new resurgence grew in strength, a pride of sorts. The descendants of the fire's survivors wanted to reclaim Sotoba for themselves and their families, both alive and dead. It had been their home for generations and this new village, not even worthy of a name, was just a place keeper. As the movement grew it was once again an Ozaki that led the villagers. This family had not only retained, but strengthened its prestige through the years. Together they rebuilt Sotoba in their own image. It was indeed their goal to preserve tradition, but they had not lived in the village years ago to know what all was there and then where to build it. So while it was Sotoba, marked notably by the Ozaki clinic and Muroi shrine, it is also a new Sotoba and because of that it was believed that it deserved its own name: Ihai. As was Sotoba named for the grave markers, Ihai was names for the ashes it arose from. The name was decided to be morbidly befitting a new Sotoba.

It is this new Sotoba, Ihai, where a familiar yet distant story will unfold. The village of ashes, born from the village of graves, is just three generations old. The founding generation of Ihai are now graying as they observe the grandchildren they built this village for. The children of these founders currently work to keep Ihai running since many of their parents have retired and their own children need taking care of. That is not to say, however, that this third generation of grandchildren are not working. Several have recently breached adulthood and not all of the founding generation have retired. Of course, if asked, the villagers could immediately name the most hardworking figures that come to mind. From the founding generation, the graying priest that oversees the Muroi shrine for example. While Shinmei Morisaki may not be of the Muroi family he takes pride in his position and has lived up to the respect of everyone. From the third generation and the Ozaki family, the namesake of his Sotoba ancestor, Toshio Ozaki is another example.

This young man has suffered a fair bit of tragedy, even compared to his namesake. His grandparents, the founders that urged and led the reclaiming of Sotoba, lived to see the naming of Ihai and even his own birth. Shortly after his little sister was born, however, they perished in a car accident with his parents. Only his sister, Mizuki, by miracle alone survived the crash while he and his younger brother, Natsuno, were home alone. From that day on, with no other relatives, he had to step up and care for his family. Beyond that he inherited the sole responsibility of ensuring the health of Ihai. Toshio is now a high school student and while he not truly a doctor yet, he is a nurse through experience and training and a doctor through prestige. He works with the staff of the Ozaki clinic to provide the best care he can all the while juggling high school, preparing for medical school, housework, his moody younger brother, his quirky little sister, and just being a teenager. Yet even he is just one character on this stage.


End file.
